Tour Operators says Maldives airport services too expensive- Shameem

State Minister of Ministry of Tourism, Ahmed Shameem has said that the main concern raised by the tour operators during the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Fair held recently in London was regarding the costs of the services of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.

Speaking to Miadhu Daily regarding the experiences in the WTO Fair, State Minister Shameem said that the tour operators noted that the airport services of the Maldives are too expensive.

Shameem said that the first international airline to land in Maldives after the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport to international standard was TUI and TUI also raised concern regarding this issue of the expensive prices of the airport services.

“TUI officials says that they carry more than 600 tourists to Maldives from their airline but with the current airport charges they are deciding to stop the flights to Maldives,” he said.

Shameem said that since the TUI carries mostly European tourists and since many tourists come to Maldives from TUI the tourism industry will not be able to digest the loss of 600 tourists per month, 2400 per year and 26400 tourists per year.

Shameem said that the damages to the tourism industry because of the high price of the services will directly affect the economy of the state. He added that this will also result in a lot of people losing their jobs.

Furthermore, Shameem said that this issue should be resolved as soon as possible through holding dialogue at a national level.